Communism: The Ultimate Disease
• Many Americans become terrified of Communists
• Communist ideology is like a disease• People didn’t seek proof–Wild accusations were made
• Caused by the fall of Eastern Europe and China
• At its pinnacle, the American Communist Party had 80,000 members
The Public Criticizes Truman
• Truman is viewed as soft on Communism– Truman “gave away” Eastern Europe
• Attacks come from the Republican party
• In March of 1947, he responds• Federal Employee Loyalty Program– Loyalty Review Board
• Purpose was to investigate federal employees
The Loyalty Review Board
• Attorney General lists 91 subversive organizations
• Between 1947 and 1951 3.2 million employees were investigated
• Further review could occur before a board– 27,000 full scale investigations– 212 dismissals – 2,900 more dismissed
• Truman now uses anti-communist fervor to gain support for his money programs
Fear of Social Change
• Communist fear lead to fear of changes in other aspects of society
• Feared the changing of gender roles– Role of Women
• The Civil Rights Movement was suspected of being Communist
House Un-American Activities Council
• Had its roots in the Overman and Fish Committees– Investigated Germans, Bolsheviks, and
Communists
• Dies Committee in 1938 chaired by Martin Dies– Guilt by association
• Used ex-members of organizations as snitches• They found 563 names on a leftist mailing list• An additional 1,000 were sympathetic to
totalitarian regimes
HUAC Attacks Hollywood
• Thought there was communist propaganda in movies
• HUAC calls 43 witnesses in September of 1947–Most “friendly”– Ten “unfriendly”
• Hollywood responds with a “blacklist”• Hollywood begins to pump out tons
of anti-communist movies
The McCarran Act and Its Impact
• Sought to punish communist ideas• Made it illegal to plan an overthrow• Required organizations to register
with the AG– Americans could lose citizenship
• Truman vetoes the McCarran Act– Congress passes the law over his veto
• Kind of like the Patriot Act of the 1950s
Spies? In America?
• In 1945 the Amerasia is accused of spying– Editor pleads guilty
• In 1948 Alger Hiss is accused of spying
• Whittaker Chambers claims to have microfilm
• They convict him on charges of perjury
• Served 44 months in a federal prison• Declassified information points to his
guilt
Other Spy Cases
• In October of 1949, eleven leaders of the American Communist Party are convicted
• In 1950 Judith Coplon is convicted– One of the first major convictions
• Worked in the Justice Department• FBI figured out what she was going– Set her up using fake documents
The Rosenberg’s: A Spy Case that Rattles the Nation
• Soviet Union detonates their “bomb” in September of 1949
• Klaus Fuchs had been passing secrets to Soviets
• Fuchs admits to giving away information
• Implicates Julius and Ethel Rosenberg• Found guilty and sentenced to death• Executed by electric chair in June of
1953
Other Cold War Spy Cases
• Aldrich Ames is convicted in 1994– Named American
assets
• Robert Hanssen pleads guilty in 2001– Sold out American
spies
• Neither received the death penalty
The Witch Hunt Begins
• Joseph McCarthy is a Wisconsin Senator– Not a very good one
• Decides to play on fears in America• Starts to throw out wild accusations– In no way supported by fact
• This comes to be known as McCarthyism– Accusing someone without proof
The Witch Hunt Begins
• February 9, 1950, Wheeling, West Virginia– Speech to Republican Women’s Club
• Claims to have a piece of paper with names– Number of names varies
• Distorts information to the Senate• Republicans don’t try and stop him• He now makes a grave mistake
McCarthy Accuses the Army
• Accuses members of the Army• Results in nationally televised hearings– Bullies witnesses– Appears dishonest
• McCarthy falls from favor after the hearings
• McCarthy upsets everyone in four years• Dies of alcoholism three years later• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO2iiovYq70
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